View Full Version : AT - Divorce Tool?
AbeHikes
02-27-2005, 21:46
I posted earlier about my short hike today. I wanted to pass along a quick story one of the rangers at Amicalola told me this morning before I started.
He said that they'd recently discovered a full gear set abandoned up the trail a bit. They were able to somehow determine the identity to whom the gear belonged. They were able to confirm through his wife that the hiker did not make it back home and was supposed to be on a thru-hike. After some searching on the trail and some off-trail investigation, they found out that he exited the trail, purposely abandoning his gear to present evidence of his missing status, only to hop a plane for the west coast in order to end his marriage... and to be presumed dead?
What ever happened to having the stones to say "it's over"? It may not be a happy occassion, but at least you don't have to go through the indignity of being caught running away.
Dances with Mice
02-27-2005, 21:58
...either take the gear with you or hide it better?
Nightwalker
02-27-2005, 22:08
...either take the gear with you or hide it better?
I pick "A" Bob.
Or better yet, marry a hiker-girl in the first place.
Sleepy the Arab
02-27-2005, 22:38
The story sets my BS meter off. It sounds like the rangers were either making something up or relaying an urban...er, woodland legend. There are easier ways to fake your death than skipping out on a thru-hike (uh, not that I know from personal experience).
Anyway, perhaps I'll head over to Snopes now...
AbeHikes
02-27-2005, 22:55
The story sets my BS meter off. It sounds like the rangers were either making something up or relaying an urban...er, woodland legend. There are easier ways to fake your death than skipping out on a thru-hike (uh, not that I know from personal experience).
Anyway, perhaps I'll head over to Snopes now...
I suppose that's possible. He seemed pretty straightforward to me and I'm no spring chicken. However, it could be a story that the senior rangers told him.
Tha Wookie
02-27-2005, 22:56
The story sets my BS meter off. It sounds like the rangers were either making something up or relaying an urban...er, woodland legend. There are easier ways to fake your death than skipping out on a thru-hike (uh, not that I know from personal experience).
Anyway, perhaps I'll head over to Snopes now...
I'll be right behind you, Sleepy.
Spirit Walker
02-28-2005, 00:29
When I thruhiked in 1992 there was a full pack leaning against a tree about a mile from Stover Creek. It was a cheap camo pack. I assumed, as I passed it, that the owner was behind a bush somewhere, so I looked away. An hour or two later someone came into the shelter and asked "Did you see that pack leaning against the tree near here?" Obviously it had been abandoned. It happens. Farther up the trail I passed a whole camp set up that had been abandoned a few weeks previously. Animals had done a good job going through the tent, kitchen etc. Since you always wonder, "What happened here?" it is easy to come up with possible explanations. A fleeing husband is one answer. True or not - who knows?
Lion King
02-28-2005, 01:16
Thats better then finding a backpack full of knives and machetes and sharp killing tools like some folks found in 2003. The day before I reached a shelter a 16 year old who had killed his father and had planed on hiding out in a shelter left his stuff behind.
Troopers -Forest rangers all kind of folk came to the shelter the night before I got there...cant remember the name of the SHelter, but it is about 200 yards from a road.
The kid had already hiked out and just left everything...or is he still out there?
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!:banana
Going out on the trail makes me glad I'm married. It's great going home to my wife and her cooking after the trip. Makes you appreciate all she does for me.
orangebug
02-28-2005, 10:11
I can believe this story. Plenty of folks abandon gear once they discover the trail is hard. Plenty of folks abandon families for similar reasons. The idea that he thought he could hop a plane and end his marriage out West and disappear demonstrates the guy was either ill or dumb.
I've found the contents of a backpacker's pack, including the pack, abandoned in and around the shelter I help maintain. Since it's within a national park, I'm duty-bound to report it "just in case." So, it does happen.
In my instance, nothing ever came of it. No missing person, no evidence of a crime. Just more junk to haul out after the investigation.
My personal opinion is that if there is some truth to the story, its not the whole truth.
Might a guy head to the trail with the hope of leaving his problems behind? Sure. Might he change his mind and say "screw this" after taking the first few steps? Yea.
That said, he would have to be pretty stupid to think that ditching a pack right at the start of the Trail would help cement his "missing status" and the lead the authorities to presume him dead. That's not f$%ed up, that's criminal. Not to mention totally unlikely to succeed.
On the otherhand, I can see how finding an abandoned pack might waste the authorities time, and quite correctly piss them off. And perhaps give rise to the charges communicated to dchastain.
Just one of a million possible scenarios, I suppose.
Rick B
generoll
02-28-2005, 11:13
Last summer I accomplished one of my minor goals. I hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. North to South and overnighted at Phantom Ranch. On the way down from the North rim I came across three hikers with full backpacks hiking up. They were French and had limited english, but the interesting thing was that they only had 2 backpacks between the three of them. This was below the Supai tunnel for any of you that are familiar with that part of the trail and just a brutal climb. As I continued my descent I came across a backpack on the downside of the trail which had been caught by a tree or shrub growing out from the side of the slope below the trail. My first thought was that a hiker had fallen and somehow the pack had caught on the shrub, but then remembered the French hikers and decided that it must have been the womans pack.
The point to this rambling story is that sometimes the reality of a trail just overcomes a hiker. I tend to go more with the view that the guy was carrying a lot more baggage then was in his pack and at some point just said ****it and decided to drop his pack and try and start over in every possible way.
Anyway, i do my next installment on my section hike coming up this weekend. Perhaps I'll meet some of you between Woody Gap and Standing Indian.
happy trails.
Thats better then finding a backpack full of knives and machetes and sharp killing tools like some folks found in 2003. The day before I reached a shelter a 16 year old who had killed his father and had planed on hiding out in a shelter left his stuff behind.
Troopers -Forest rangers all kind of folk came to the shelter the night before I got there...cant remember the name of the SHelter, but it is about 200 yards from a road.
The kid had already hiked out and just left everything...or is he still out there?
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
aren't u supposed to wait til OCTOBER to tell these TALL TALES? :D
hey when is your DVD coming out?
My buddy: "Jigsaw" says he is in one of the scenes...
like to order it.